Audiobooks narrated by Bob Johnson

"An elegiac novel of war and peace, of fathers and sons, of fading memory and the terror of what cannot be forgotten, Soldiers & Sailors follows the tortured career of Dr. Hal Adams. Pursued by a past he cannot bring himself to remember, Hal returns to his decaying Midwestern birthplace, where he takes a job as staff physician at a decrepit veteran's home. There, Hal finds himself the unwilling audience of his patients' horrific stories, and descends with them into a Dantesque vision of the hell of war. Fleeing one hell for another, Hal searches the ruins of his ancestral home for clues to his own family's descent into murder and madness. Between these two worlds, Hal finds a guide in Nell, the wryly attentive receptionist―who harbors her own secrets about both worlds. The ancient veterans compel Hal to hear what they did and what they suffered, remembering a blood-spattered village in France, or the infernal jungles of New Guinea, the terrors of the Murmansk run or the rail yards of Dachau. Their anguished recollections illuminate this novel like star shells over a darkened battlefield. As the veterans' war stories grow stranger and more terrible, they lead Hal to a terrifying discovery: about his patients, his family, and his collapsing world. In Hal's struggle to rebuild his world on the ruins of his father's war, Terrence Holt has created a gripping saga, one ringing with the echoes of America's bloodstained history, and the dire possibilities of our collective future. An epic celebration of the storyteller's craft, Soldiers & Sailors offers a literary testament to the heroism of those whose sacrifice must never be forgotten."

Terrence Holt (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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Boomtown: The True Story of the Wickedest Town in Texas

"The true story of the corrupt and violent town of Borger, Texas, in 1927―and the legendary Texas Ranger tasked with taming it. Just a year after the town of Borger, Texas, was founded, the press called it 'the wickedest in the state' for good reason. The town, sprung into existence overnight to support the oilfields, had become a lawless haven for bootleggers, pimps, and gamblers, run by a crooked city hall. That environment attracts some of the most unsavory characters in prohibition America, including a gang of murderous bank robbers who head into Borger to spend their money on booze, gambling, and prostitutes. In the span of weeks, the gang kills three law enforcement officers, bringing the worst heat imaginable: legendary Texas Ranger Captain Frank Hamer, who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. His arrival threatens to break even this hardest boomtown in America―if it doesn't kill him first. What follows is one of the most thrilling and violent untold stories from the era of gangsters, lawmen, and vice. Author Joe Pappalardo brings to life a town previously lost in the haze of history."

Joe Pappalardo (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation

"Soviet socialism was based on paradoxes that were revealed by the peculiar experience of its collapse. To the people who lived in that system the collapse seemed both completely unexpected and completely unsurprising. At the moment of collapse it suddenly became obvious that Soviet life had always seemed simultaneously eternal and stagnating, vigorous and ailing, bleak and full of promise. Although these characteristics may appear mutually exclusive, in fact they were mutually constitutive. This book explores the paradoxes of Soviet life during the period of 'late socialism' (1960s–1980s) through the eyes of the last Soviet generation. Focusing on the major transformation of the 1950s at the level of discourse, ideology, language, and ritual, Alexei Yurchak traces the emergence of multiple unanticipated meanings, communities, relations, ideals, and pursuits that this transformation subsequently enabled. His historical, anthropological, and linguistic analysis draws on rich ethnographic material from Late Socialism and the post–Soviet period."

Alexei Yurchak (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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The Intelligence Intellectuals: Social Scientists and the Making of the CIA

"In the early days of the Cold War, the United States faced a crisis in intelligence analysis. A series of intelligence failures in 1949 and 1950, including the failure to warn about the North Korean invasion of South Korea, made it clear that gut instinct and traditional practices were no longer sufficient for intelligence analysis in the nuclear age. The new director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Walter Bedell Smith, had a mandate to reform it. Based on new archival research in declassified documents and the participants' personal papers, The Intelligence Intellectuals reveals the neglected history of how America's brightest academic minds were recruited by the CIA to revolutionize intelligence analysis during this critical period. Peter C. Grace describes how the scientifically sound analysis methods that they introduced significantly helped the United States gain an advantage in the Cold War, and these new analysts legitimized the role of the recently created CIA in the national security community. Grace demonstrates how these professors―such as William Langer from Harvard, Sherman Kent from Yale, and Max Millikan from MIT―developed systematic approaches to intelligence analysis that shaped the CIA's methodology for decades to come. This insightful history about the place of social science in national security is a must-listen."

Peter C. Grace (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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In the Shadows of Guadalcanal

"Winner, 2023 Arizona-New Mexico Book Awards, Historical Fiction Twice torpedoed during the Battle of the Atlantic, LT. Tony Colombo USNR, a former merchant marine officer, is appointed to command a new Navy ship, PC-450. After a period of escorting convoys up and down the Atlantic coast, Tony finds himself escorting ships loaded with Marine Corps equipment to New Zealand and Australia. Once arrived, he is ordered to begin escorting convoys up and down the Australian coast. Some weeks later, Tony and PC-450 engage in battle with a Japanese submarine attempting to penetrate Brisbane Harbor. In the summer of 1942, as PC-450 begins to escort numerous convoys from Australia to Noumea in New Caledonia, the United States invades Guadalcanal with the result that Tony begins guiding convoys north in support of the invasion while fending off the air raids that the Japanese throw down. PC-450 participates in the invasion of the Russell Islands and then, during the fight for New Georgia, PC-450 not only helps to fend off Japanese air attacks but engages in surface actions. Wounded in a sudden air attack, Tony and Baldy are returned to Brisbane for convalescence and new assignments."

Phillip Parotti (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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Rogue Elephant: How the Republicans Went from the Party of Business to the Party of Chaos

"Rogue Elephant traces the radicalization of the Republican Party over the past fifty years, arguing that its subordination to Donald Trump was not an anomaly, but rather the culmination of processes at work for decades. Providing a new perspective on figures from Newt Gingrich and George W. Bush to the Tea Party and Donald Trump, it shows that the party's lurch to the far right was the product of a volatile mix of a disorganized party structure and a divided and fractious class of American business owners. These forces have propelled ever more reactionary leaders to the front of the party, setting up cycles where the insurgents of one period become the party establishment of the next, and find themselves confronted with a new batch of insurgents even farther to the right. The result is that a party that was once seen as the handmaiden of American business has increasingly found itself in conflict with business groups like the Chamber of Commerce. Considering the implications of these dynamics for American democracy, Heideman warns that there may be no going back to normal for the Republican Party without a much broader transformation of American society."

Paul Heideman (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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The Triumph of Fear: Domestic Surveillance and Political Repression from McKinley to Eisenhower

"A history with surprising new revelations about the depths of government surveillance and constitutional rights abuses In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, anarchist and socialist political movements spurred the expansion of nascent United States federal surveillance capabilities. But it was the ensuing, decades-long persistent exaggerations of domestic political threats that drove an exponential increase in the size and scope of unlawful government surveillance and related political repression, which continue to the present. The Triumph of Fear is a history of the rise and expansion of surveillance-enabled political repression in the United States from the 1890s to 1961. Drawing on declassified government documents and other primary sources, many obtained via dozens of Freedom of Information Act lawsuits and analyzed for the first time, Eddington offers historians, legal scholars, and general listeners surprising new revelations about the depths of government surveillance programs and how this domestic spying helped fuel federal assaults on free speech and association."

Patrick G. Eddington (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God

"Hezbollah is the first thorough examination of Hezbollah's covert activities beyond Lebanon's borders, including its financial and logistical support networks and its criminal and terrorist operations worldwide. Hezbollah—Lebanon's 'Party of God'—is a multifaceted organization: It is a powerful political party in Lebanon, a Shia Islam religious and social movement, Lebanon's largest militia, a close ally of Iran, and a terrorist organization. Matthew Levitt examines Hezbollah's beginnings, its first violent forays in Lebanon, and then its terrorist activities and criminal enterprises abroad. Levitt also describes Hezbollah's unit dedicated to supporting Palestinian militant groups and Hezbollah's involvement in training and supporting insurgents who fought United States troops in post-Saddam Iraq. The book concludes with a look at Hezbollah's integral, ongoing role in Iran's shadow war with Israel and the West. Levitt shows convincingly that Hezbollah's willingness to use violence at home and abroad, its global reach, and its proxy-patron relationship with the Iranian regime should be of serious concern. Hezbollah is an important book for scholars, policymakers, students, and the general public interested in international security, terrorism, international criminal organizations, and Middle East studies."

Matthew Levitt (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Sundowners, Pegasus, and Little Butch: Carrier Air Group 11 and the War in the Pacific, 1943-1945

"The Sundowners, Pegasus, and Little Butch provides a new perspective on the Pacific War by following the exploits of a single Navy unit, Carrier Air Group 11 (CVG-11), beginning in 1943. Author Brian D. Laslie tells the riveting story of how the unit produced several aces, built a storied combat record, and played an important role in the defeat of Japan. Like other Carrier Air Groups, CVG-11 comprised three aircraft squadrons: fighter (VF-11), bomber (VB-11), and torpedo (VT-11). CVG-11 saw its first action on Guadalcanal in 1943. It was then deployed on the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV 12) and fought throughout the Central and Southwest Pacific areas, from 1944 to 1945. The air group's achievements during World War II were laudable, amassing 103 air-to-air victories, destroying 272 grounded planes, and sinking more than 100,000 tons of Japanese shipping. During its time on the Hornet, CVG-11 also produced four aces, with top ace Charlie Stimpson shooting down an impressive sixteen enemy planes. VF-11 took great pride in protecting their shipmates and other squadron members in VB-11 and VT-11 and logged a perfect escort record, losing no bombers or torpedo planes to Japanese aircraft during the entire conflict. Laslie weaves together diaries, interviews, archival research, and official battle reports to present CVG-11's compelling story."

Brian D. Laslie (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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Citizen Wynn: A Sin City Saga of Power, Lust, and Blind Ambition

"Citizen Wynn recounts the cautionary saga of uber-wealthy casino king Steve Wynn, who built a global gambling empire on fantasy, grift, and misogyny before hubris and #MeToo brought him down. Part Mafia history, part deeply researched social commentary, part Horatio Alger gone horribly awry, Citizen Wynn is a modern morality tale with instant appeal to 100 million Americans who gamble regularly as well as millions more who recognize the Wynn name from Macao to Monaco."

Dennis McDougal (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

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Iran's Ministry of Intelligence: A Concise History

"Steven R. Ward provides an accessible overview of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) and its focus on tracking and countering domestic dissent and perceived foreign-inspired sedition. The ministry's checkered record of effective intelligence operations includes a history of assassinations and human rights abuses. Developing a clearer picture of the MOIS is important for understanding how the Islamic Republic of Iran operates, seeks security, and competes with its adversaries. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence updates and improves on the paucity of available information about Iranian intelligence activities. The chapters in the book cover the MOIS's origins, leaders, structure and organizational culture, operations and tradecraft, foreign partners, cultural representations, and future outlook. The book also provides a significant examination of this contemporary intelligence agency that does not follow the model of Western organizations. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence will be of interest to scholars, students, and general fans of intelligence and Iran's history and politics. It will also be an important resource for national security and foreign policy practitioners."

Steven R. Ward (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fatal Abstraction: Why the Managerial Class Loses Control of Software

"Software was supposed to radically improve society. Outdated mechanical systems would be easily replaced; social media platforms like Facebook would bring people together; and generative AI would solve the world’s greatest ills. Yet in practice, few of the systems we looked to with such high hopes have lived up to their fundamental mandate. In fact, in too many cases they've made things worse. How did we get to this point? In Fatal Abstraction, Darryl Campbell explains that the problem is 'managerial software': programs created and overseen not by engineers but by professional managers with only the most superficial knowledge of technology itself. A former tech worker himself, Campbell shows how managerial software fails, and when it does what sorts of disastrous consequences ensue, from the Boeing 737 MAX crashes to a deadly self-driving car to PowerPoint propaganda, and beyond. Yet just because the tech industry is currently breaking its core promise does not mean the industry cannot change. Campbell argues that the solution is tech workers with actual expertise establishing industry-wide principles of ethics and safety that corporations would be forced to follow. Fatal Abstraction is a stirring rebuke of the tech industry's current managerial excesses, and also a hopeful glimpse of what a world shaped by good software can offer."

Darryl Campbell (Author), Bob Johnson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Bob Johnson

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